


Lila

by Star55



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Anxiety, Dogs, F/F, Girl Direction, Panic Attacks, Social Anxiety
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-23
Updated: 2019-06-23
Packaged: 2020-05-16 20:26:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19325485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Star55/pseuds/Star55
Summary: Harry gets a puppy to help with her anxiety. She meets a cute girl who also seems to help with it.





	Lila

**Author's Note:**

> as per usual - thanks to emma for the beta and brit-pick ily ♥
> 
> any leftover mistakes are my own. Please (kindly) tell me if you find something glaringly awful.
> 
> This is also based off an anonymous prompt that I received on tumblr that said: _Liam and Harry meeting in a dog park, where Harry is trying to keep her new puppy under control. Liam has had her dog for much longer so she has tons of pointers for Harry and they end up having play dates for the dogs to socialize (code for Liam and Harry socializing)!_ ♥
> 
>  
> 
> Please do not break the fourth wall and show this to anyone in the band, their family, friends, etc, etc. Thank you. ♥

“ _Get a dog_ they said,” Harry grumbles to herself as she tries not to sob in public. “ _It’ll ease your stress_ , they said. What a bunch of lying liars who _lie_.” 

“Did you know that talking to yourself is the first sign of madness?”

The glare that Harry shoots Niall should literally melt the skin off her bones, but it doesn’t. Niall just shrugs, laughs, and kneels down next to Harry where she’s trying, unsuccessfully, to untangle the leash from around her ankle, where it has somehow caught in the zipper of her favourite boots. 

“You’re lucky I happened to walk passed right at this very moment,” Niall says, finally freeing Harry from the clutches of the devil leash. She passes the handle to Harry, and shoots her a wry smile. “Are you alright? You know, being outside and all?”

Harry stiffly nods. “I’m fine,” she replies. “Apart from the fact that I _still_ don’t have a name for this puppy, and the fact that my favourite shoes are now ruined. She had to go and wee all over them.”

“She’s just excited,” Niall says. She scratches behind the puppy’s ears, and Harry’s puppy scrambles to get closer to Niall, peeing all over again. Niall just laughs. Harry doesn’t know how it doesn’t bother her.

“Sorry,” she apologises. “I thought bringing her outside might help with that a little, but she’s peed on _everything_ in the five minutes since we’ve left the house.”

“Haz, don’t worry about it, they’re just shoes,” Niall says. She presses a kiss to the top of the dog’s head and stands up, giving Harry a pitying look. “Take her for a walk and I’ll meet you back home. I’m sure there’s doggy schools or something that you can take her to for training. I’ll start looking online for any.”

With a sigh of relief, Harry nods. “That’d be wonderful. Thank you.”

Niall gives her a small shrug. “Any time. I’ll see you in a bit, yeah?”

“Yeah.” Harry gently tugs on the leash and her puppy follows.

Getting the dog isn’t the _worst_ thing in the world. Harry’s just used to cats. That’s what she had growing up, and her mum still has cats, it’s what she knows. She hasn’t ever dealt with a dog before, let alone a puppy. But her therapist suggested a dog as a way to not only get her back out into the world, but to help with her anxiety. In hindsight, getting a fully trained anxiety dog probably _would_ have been better, but Harry had seen this Poodle puppy up for adoption and really, it had been love at first sight. Harry’s sure that the puppy feels the same. 

She just happened to pick the most excitable puppy that happens to exist. But she can deal with it. She can. Niall is going to look up online to see if there’s somewhere Harry can take her new puppy to train her, which is good. And will also get Harry out of the house, too. Which is something that makes her chest tighten at the prospect. But she’s meant to do these things. She’s _meant_ to get back out into the world and show her therapist that she’s trying. It’s just so _hard_ though. 

“C’mon then,” Harry says to her puppy, leading them through the park. 

The park is also a big part as to why Harry chose a dog, too. It’s close to her and Niall’s house, and is perfectly close enough to go outside, but also be close to home in case she gets overwhelmed. Which is a necessity. 

The puppy stops to wee again, and then her nose is in the grass, sniffing at things that only she can probably smell. 

“Watson! _Heel_.” 

Harry glances up in time to see a _horse_ charging at her. She squeaks, slams her eyes shut, and figures that death is inevitable upon collision with this animal. But when she opens her eyes absolutely _nothing_ has happened.

“ _Watson_. You’re a silly boy, aren’t you?”

Harry blinks, looking at this humongous dog (not a horse, her mind supplies now that it’s registered what it’s seeing and is finally calming down) sitting in front of her. She brings a hand to her chest, feeling her heart thumping against her rib cage.

“I’m so sorry if I scared you. He’s not normally like this. I’m Liam, by the way.” A hand is shoved out in front of Harry and she blinks again before nodding. She gently shakes the outstretched hand and takes a shaky breath.

“Harry,” she says softly. “Erm…” she quickly scoops up her puppy, securing her arms around her little squirming body. Watson the dog looks like he wants to play with her puppy and he’s _huge_ and her puppy is tiny. It can only end badly and Harry just got her. She doesn’t want to lose her already.

“Oh! Who’s this?” Liam’s hand is immediately stretching out, scratching behind the puppy’s ears. 

“Oh. Um. I… I actually don’t have a name for her yet,” Harry admits sheepishly.

“You don’t?” Liam asks, turning warm brown eyes on Harry. 

She feels admonished. “Yes, I’ve only just got her. And. Well. Nothing seems to fit. I didn’t like the name she came with. ‘Fluffy’ doesn’t suit her.”

“What do you think she looks like?” 

Harry hasn’t really thought about that. But now that Liam’s said it, it seems like the most logical conclusion. “Lila.” As if knowing her name, the puppy turns her face to Harry’s and licks a stripe up her chin.

“I think she likes it,” Liam says fondly.

Relief floods Harry. She feels _much_ better now that she has a name for her puppy. She smiles when Lila licks her chin again. That’s a habit she’ll have to get her out of, but for now, she doesn’t mind it. 

“She’s squirmy, isn’t she?” Liam says, nodding to where Lila is, indeed, squirming in Harry’s arms. Harry sets her down and Lila immediately wanders over to Watson, sniffing at his paws. This entire situation is making Harry _very_ tense.

“She probably needs to pee again,” Harry says when she realises she hasn’t responded to Liam’s question. “She’s been stopping to have a wee every five metres.”

Liam laughs. It’s a rich, beautiful sound. “Watson was like that when he was a baby, too. I can’t say puppy because he’s still a puppy to me. He’s only eighteen months old.”

Harry’s eyes widen dramatically. “He’s _huge_ though!”

Laughter spills from Liam again. “He’s a Great Dane.”

Harry shakes her head. She can’t believe that Watson is so young. He’s so big and he really did resemble a horse when he was charging at her. He seems to be rather gentle with Lila, though, which is a relief. Harry is watching them like a hawk, ready to swoop in if anything should happen to her puppy.

“Well, I’d better go then,” Liam says, forcing Harry to look over at her. She has a lovely profile, Harry thinks. “It was nice meeting you, Harry. And Lila, of course. Watson, c’mon.”

Watson noses Lila once more before he trots off alongside Liam. Harry shakes her head, watching as Liam basically runs to keep up with Watson’s fast gait. 

“C’mon, Lila, home time. I think that’s enough excitement for one day,” Harry says. She reaches down and runs her hand through Lila’s chocolate coloured curls, not unlike her own. She smiles when Lila licks her hand, and she scoops her up, happy to carry her the rest of the way home.

~*~

True to her word, Niall looks up and finds a few different puppy schools that Harry could take Lila to so she can start getting trained. There’s one the next day, but Harry’s anxiety is far too much for her to handle going outside. So she stays in with Niall and Lila and feels much better for it.

The class that’s the closest to their house is one at the park and it’s relatively early in the morning. Harry figures she just has to bite the bullet and get it over with. She’ll feel much better when she’s there and she’ll feel even better when she can start training Lila properly. The constant weeing is still an issue.

Harry slips on Lila’s harness, carefully securing it around her little body. She double checks that she has waste bags in case Lila poops and then they’re on their way to the park with Niall in tow. 

“I should’ve had that coffee before we left,” Niall says, yawning widely. Harry’s certain her jaw is going to crack if she yawns any wider.

“I’ll make you some when we get home,” Harry replies. 

There’s no way that she could’ve done this without Niall. There’s a lot she couldn’t do without Niall, but especially doing something new with a lot of new people is something she can’t do alone. She’s lucky that her best friend is so wonderful.

“Ooh, she’s a bit alright, isn’t she?” Niall says, nodding towards a girl with long, dark hair. She has a French bulldog on a leash and is chatting to the woman whose dog almost bowled Harry over the other day. 

“She’s cute,” Harry agrees. Her gaze is drawn to the other woman… Liam if she remembers correctly. And the horse-like dog is Watson. Lila seems to know who they are, as she strains against the leash, urging Harry to follow her towards the unsuspecting pair.

“Hello!” Liam greets cheerfully, giving Harry a beaming smile. “Hello, Lila!” she squats down and Lila immediately licks all over Liam’s hand, her entire body wriggling with happiness.

“Hi, I’m Niall.”

Liam turns her smile onto Niall. “Lovely to meet you. And it’s nice to see you again, too, Harry.”

Harry promptly blushes. She isn’t used to people being so focused on her. “You too. Lila seems to have missed you. And Watson.” She glances down and spots Lila and Watson’s heads almost pressed together. The sight is adorable.

“Sorry, this is Zayn, and her baby is Stitch.”

Zayn nods at them both and Harry can practically hear Niall’s sharp intake of breath. “’Sup.”

They’re saved from any more small talk by a woman’s loud, commanding voice getting their attention. 

“Alright, everyone,” she says, clapping her hands together. The dog at her side barks once and everyone fall silent.

Harry does a double take when she sees just how gorgeous the woman is. She’s shorter than Harry expects considering how loud the woman was. The dog at her side comes up to her thighs, sitting there patiently while she talks.

“As most of you know, I’m Louis,” she begins. “And I’ve left my wife in bed to come out here and teach you lot how to train your dogs. I see some new faces – so _welcome_ , everyone. We’ll start nice and easy this morning.”

The class takes all of Harry’s attention. She’s glad that Niall is there, even though Niall is too busy flirting with Zayn to really pay attention to Harry. But her presence is comforting enough. 

It takes the entire class, but by the end of it, Harry has Lila sitting on command, and she feels so completely _proud_ of herself. 

“Is this your first class?” Liam asks when most of the crowd has dispersed. Watson sits at her feet, his nose pressing into Lila’s side like they’re best friends already.

Harry nods. “It is.”

An impressed look crosses Liam’s face. “That’s incredible! It took me ages to get Watson to sit on command. You got it first time around.”

A blush creeps over Harry’s cheeks. “It was nothing.”

Liam shakes her head. “It’s definitely not nothing.”

“Thanks,” Harry mumbles, feeling a little awkward at the attention.

They’re interrupted a moment later by their class leader, Louis, approaching. 

“Li! Great work today. Thanks for helping out.” She claps her hand on Liam’s shoulder and Liam beams at her.

“Yeah, of course,” Liam replies. 

Harry watches the interaction curiously. She gives a small nod to Louis who smiles at her before calling a soft “c’mon, Cliff,” before wandering off.

“So are you going to come back to this class next week?” Liam asks, her hand dropping down to pat Watson’s head. He presses into her palm and the action makes Harry smile. She scoops Lila up off the ground and snuggles her puppy close.

“I think so,” Harry replies. “Yeah, I mean. Yes. It was a nice class. I liked the atmosphere.”

Liam beams at her. “Everyone here is so lovely,” she says. “And we’ve had no incidents with dogs clashing, either, which is good.”

“Does that happen a lot?”

“Sometimes dogs don’t like each other, but if that happens, most of us are pretty quick to separate them.”

Harry nods. She looks passed Liam’s shoulder and sees Niall’s hand reach out to touch Zayn’s arm. She bites her lip.

“Is your friend gay by any chance?” Harry wonders.

Liam blinks at the question but turns around to look at Niall and Zayn at Harry’s nod. “Oh, she’s the gayest,” she says, her tone fond. “Niall is _exactly_ Zayn’s type.”

“Same for Niall,” Harry replies, watching the pair with an amused expression. This is something she never grows tired of – watching Niall flirt with girls. She’s _so good_ at it. It makes Harry a little envious. She’s never been that good with flirting. Cute girls get her flustered. Which is why she’s been a mess since the first time Liam spoke to her.

“God I wish it was that easy,” Liam says. Harry cocks her head in Liam’s direction.

“Wish what was that easy?”

“Talking to girls,” Liam says. She doesn’t look at Harry when she speaks, but Harry gets it. She’s rubbish at talking to girls. “Looking at them they make it look _so easy_. But for some of us we can’t just go up to a girl and say ‘hey, I think you’re cute’. Not with homophobia still being the leading cause of LGBT plus deaths.”

Harry hums. “I agree,” she says. “It’s not always safe. But. Um. Niall and I are both gay. Well, Niall is bisexual. I’m a lesbian. So there’s no judgement here. And Zayn’s obviously gay, too. And Louis seems nice. And she mentioned having a wife.” Shit. She’s rambling. She immediately clamps her mouth shut.

Liam turns her crinkly eyed smile on Harry. Harry’s insides flip flop a bit. “Thanks,” she says. “I appreciate that.”

Harry just nods. Lila squirms in her arms and she sets her back down. Watson immediately starts to play with her. She likes that they’re becoming friends. It’s sweet. Though, she is going to have to keep an eye on them until Lila is old enough to be spayed. She doesn’t want to think of a Poodle/Great Dane hybrid. 

“Oh, wow, they’re snogging already.” Liam’s voice breaks Harry’s concentration on their dogs and she glances up to see Niall and Zayn definitely sharing a pretty steamy kiss. 

Harry holds back a snort. “Niall’s definitely the kind of girl who knows what she wants and just goes for it.”

“I can tell,” Liam replies. Harry shoots her a quizzical look. “Well, Zayn is just usually more reserved than this. She’s once waited three dates before kissing someone before.”

“Maybe they’re soulmates?” Harry suggests. She shrugs her shoulder and glances back down at Lila and Watson, who are lying on the grass next to each other. “Look how cute they are.” 

Liam follows her gaze and smiles. “I’ve never seen Watson make a friend this fast. He took _ages_ to warm up to Stitch.”

Warmth fills Harry at this. It’s like she’s done something right in choosing Lila.

“Haz,” Niall’s voice calls, disrupting Harry’s thoughts. “Will you be alright to walk home alone? I’ve got a date.”

Harry grins. “I’ll be fine,” she says, nodding. She can see the excitement sparkling in Niall’s eyes. She can’t wait to hear all about their date later.

“Aces,” Niall says. “I’ll meet you back home later.”

With that, Niall and Zayn walk off, Stitch hurrying alongside them as fast as his little legs can carry him.

“Well, it looks like it’s just you and me this afternoon, Lila,” Harry says. Lila glances her way before resting her head on her paws. Harry loves this dog so much already it’s ridiculous. She figures that’s how people feel when they have their first child.

“I can walk you home if you like?” Liam asks. 

Harry glances up at her and bites her lip. “Um.” She doesn’t really like strangers in her space. And while she’s spoken to Liam twice now, she is still, essentially, a stranger. “No, that’s okay. I live close by, I can walk by myself.”

Liam nods. “It was really lovely seeing you again,” she says. “Maybe we could organise a puppy play date so Watson and Lila can hang out again?”

Harry finds herself nodding. “Yeah,” she replies. “I think they’d like that.”

They exchange numbers and Harry heads home with Lila, feeling like she somehow won something today but she just doesn’t know what yet.

~*~

Her therapist is _very_ happy with the potential new friend in Liam, and the fact that having Lila has already made Harry go outside more than she had previously been.

“Celebrate the small wins, Harry,” her therapist, Emily, says. She folds her notebook over and opens her iPad up. “Let’s make your next appointment and then you can show me some of those photos of Lila.”

Harry nods. She pulls out her phone, opening her own calendar to schedule the appointment before quickly flipping over to her special Lila photo folder. She grins when she looks at her baby’s face on the screen. She passes over her phone and Emily smiles as she looks down at Lila. It warms Harry’s heart. 

“Lila seems to like Niall quite well,” Emily says. Harry figures she’s reached the Niall-and-Lila selfie section. 

“Niall loves her,” Harry replies. “They go for walks on a morning together when Niall gets up. Which mostly means that Lila walks for fifteen minutes and Niall carries her the rest of the time since she’s still too small to be walking that much.” She’s rambling again, but thankfully Emily doesn’t seem to mind it.

Emily passes Harry’s phone back and she slips it into her handbag. “She’s adorable. I’m proud of you.”

Heat floods Harry’s cheeks and she keeps looking down, fiddling with the zip of her handbag. 

“Alright, Harry, I’ll see you on the sixteenth,” Emily says. She stands and Harry quickly follows. She straightens her shirt and leaves Emily’s office, her brain full of everything that they went over in her session.

Her phone pings as she reaches her car. She gets in and sits down before unlocking her phone. It’s from Liam. She smiles, unable to help herself.

 _Would you like to meet up for lunch and a puppy play date tomorrow?_ Liam asks.

Harry’s thumbs are typing out a response before she can even properly think about it. _Lila and I would love that!_

Liam texts again while Harry is driving home and she responds as she’s walking into the house. She’s so absorbed in her phone that she doesn’t even see Niall and Zayn until she hears Niall’s squeak of surprise.

“You’re home early!” Niall says breathlessly.

Harry glances up, gets an eyeful of a topless Niall and she quickly turns around. “No, I’m not. You’ve just lost track of time.” 

She bends over to pat Lila on top of her head before wandering into the kitchen to get a drink. 

“You normally stop at the bookstore after your therapy session,” Niall says. Harry can hear shuffling and a distinctive wet, smacking sound, which she knows is Niall and Zayn kissing. She shakes her head to herself. She doesn’t care that Niall is getting hot and heavy with Zayn on their sofa. She doesn’t want to _see_ them having sex, but she isn’t going to stop them from actually having sex.

“I didn’t feel like it,” Harry calls out after she’s swallowed her mouthful of water. Truthfully, she had forgotten – Liam’s texts had distracted her. 

She opens the back door and calls for Lila, who immediately scampers through the house to get out into the back garden. Harry watches her for a moment before getting Lila’s favourite ball for her to play with. 

They play outside for a little while, Harry throwing Lila the ball until Lila grows tired and lies down on the grass, her head on her paws. 

“C’mon, let’s get a drink,” Harry says. 

She heads inside and holds the back door open until Lila wanders through. She makes sure that Lila’s bowl is full of water before checking to see what to have for dinner. She can’t hear any more noises coming from the lounge room, so she figures that Niall and Zayn have moved to her bedroom. She’s proven right when a moan filters through the walls.

With a shake of her head, Harry connects her phone to the Bluetooth speakers sitting on top of the counter and plays some music. It does the trick of drowning out the noises coming from Niall’s room. Lila curls up on her bed and is fast asleep before Harry has even properly started her preparations for dinner. 

Later, Harry sits on her bed, her journal in hand, writing down the day’s events. Upon reflection, she realises that she has spent more time writing about Liam than writing about what actually happened that day. She chews on her bottom lip.

It’s been so long since she’s had a crush on someone. She had kind of forgotten what it was like.

But the tingles in her tummy whenever Liam texts her, or when Liam smiles at her, tell her that this is _definitely_ a crush.

Her phone vibrates on her bedside drawers, the screen lighting up with a text from Liam. She grins, grabbing her phone to reply.

Of course, that’s when her door swings open and Niall walks in.

“Ask her out already,” Niall says, flopping face down on Harry’s bed. She moans softly, burying her face in Harry’s pillow. “On second thought, I’ll break up with Zayn and you and I can get married because I would _so marry you_ for this bed.”

Harry rolls her eyes fondly at Niall. She pokes Niall’s bare calf with her big toe. “From the sex sounds that I heard coming from your room earlier, there’s no _way_ that you’re breaking up with Zayn for the sake of my bed.”

Niall huffs a laugh. She rolls onto her side, facing Harry. “You’re right. I’ll just have to murder you and keep this bed instead.”

Harry gives a mock-gasp but lies down on her back so she isn’t straining her head to look at Niall. “So… You and Zayn?” she waggles her eyebrows and Niall laughs, unable to stop smiling. 

“She’s pretty great,” Niall says. “And the sex is _mind blowing_ too.”

Harry snorts indelicately. “I couldn’t tell,” she deadpans.

Niall just laughs again. The sound curls itself around Harry’s heart and settles comfortably underneath her skin.

~*~

Lunch with Liam goes great until Harry has a panic attack.

She had been feeling anxious all day, but had just put it down to nerves over this maybe-date-but-it’s-possibly-just-lunch with Liam. 

They’re in the outside dining area of a really lovely café, and they’ve just finished lunch when Harry can feel the tell-tale signs of panic creeping in. She focuses on her breathing, trying to make sure she’s actually getting oxygen into her lungs at a steady pace, lest she start hyperventilating.

She doesn’t even know what triggered it, it feels like it came out of nowhere. 

“…alright?”

Harry’s vision swims as she looks up. Liam looks concerned. That’s not good. She must be a bit obvious with her panic. She feels sweat prickling across her entire body and she tries to take a breath but it comes out shaky.

“Hey, it’s alright, just look at me,” Liam says. Her hand rests on top of Harry’s, which is gripping the table a little too tightly. Her hand is going to ache after this when she’s finally able to let go. 

“Focus on my voice,” Liam continues. Her tone is nice and steady, Harry notices. She must’ve done this before. 

It takes a few minutes for the panicked feelings to subside, but eventually Harry feels her world slipping back into focus. She feels hyper aware of _everything_ , though, and she hates it. Lila’s sitting on one of her feet. Harry is grateful for the comfort her little body brings.

“I’m going to get you a water,” Liam says. “I’ll be right back.”

Harry nods, unable to speak just yet. She bends down and scoops Lila up into her lap. Watson looks up and ambles closer. He rests his head on Harry’s knee and she reaches over to pat the top of his head, scratching behind his ears.

Moments later, Liam returns and she places a glass of water in front of Harry. She drinks from it greedily, feeling her insides sing at the cold liquid. She closes her eyes, holding some water in her mouth for a few beats before swallowing it.

Thankfully Liam hasn’t run off screaming, or worse – given her pitying looks. She just looks concerned for Harry, which is nice. Once Harry has finished her water, Liam stands up. She slings her handbag over her shoulder and then does the same with Harry’s.

“C’mon, my car is this way.”

Harry nods and follows along, wondering just when Liam started holding her hand, and why she didn’t even notice.

Before Harry knows it, they’re pulling up to her and Niall’s house and Liam is shutting off the car. Lila is still sitting in Harry’s lap, her warmth and her weight bringing comfort.

They make it inside the house and Harry immediately takes a seat on the sofa.

“Do you feel a little better now?” Liam asks.

Harry blinks twice but nods. “Yes. Thank you.”

Liam gives her a wobbly smile. She hesitates before sitting next to Harry. “Can I do anything for you?”

Harry shakes her head. “Just you being there is enough.”

They sit in silence for a little while and when Harry finally feels like she can breathe again, she realises that she’s been holding Liam’s hand the entire time. 

“Oh. Sorry,” she says, taking her hand back. Liam gives her a crinkly-eyed smile.

“Nothing to apologise about,” she replies. Her tone is sincere, which is nice. 

“Would you like a cuppa?” Harry asks, getting up off the sofa. She heads for the kitchen, filling the kettle before switching it on. She feels a little embarrassed that she had a panic attack in front of Liam – she didn’t sign up for that when they became friends. 

“Did you want to talk about it?” Liam asks as she leans against the counter, having followed Harry into the kitchen. Her expression is open, like she actually _wants_ to talk to Harry. It’s different. Nice. Odd. Harry is only used to Niall asking her questions.

“It was just a panic attack,” Harry replies, trying to brush it off.

“You have bad social anxiety, don’t you?” Liam asks. Harry’s eyes widen and Liam quickly opens her mouth to continue talking. “Niall mentioned it to me a while back. I hope that’s okay?”

The kettle finishes boiling and Harry, with her face burning, turns to give it her full attention.

“Yes,” she says after a while. “I have bad social anxiety.”

“Next time just tell me and I can come here,” Liam replies. “We don’t have to go out, or if we are out and you have a panic attack, I’ll do my best to get you back home straight away. Are there any techniques you use or things you do to bring you comfort if anything like that happens?”

Harry’s at a loss for words. “How… How do you know so much about this?” she asks. Most people think she’s being a brat. Or being ‘too sensitive’ for having the feelings that she does. But this is the first time that someone completely outside of her circle of family and friends hasn’t treated her like she’s a naughty child who just needs to be told off.

“I used to get bad panic attacks as a kid,” Liam replies. “It’s absolutely _exhausting_ trying to explain it to someone who doesn’t get it.”

Just when Harry thinks that Liam can’t get better, she goes and proves her wrong. 

“It really is,” she agrees. “And thank you for asking. It’s been… It’s hard. Most days are hard.”

“For what it’s worth, I’m really proud of you,” Liam says. “You handled yourself really well today and that’s tough. You should be proud of yourself, too.”

Harry’s cheeks burn. She feels a nudging against her leg and looks down at Watson. She immediately reaches down and pats his head before letting him and Lila outside.

The afternoon isn’t how Harry had envisioned it, but somehow, this is better. Liam knows that she has anxiety restrictions and it feels like a weight has been lifted off her chest.

~*~

“C’mon, Lila, sit,” Harry urges. They’ve been practicing this for what feels like forever. She thought that she had this locked down after that first class, but Lila seems to be having none of it. It’s making Harry frustrated.

“Use the treats,” Liam says, appearing out of nowhere.

It’s one of their dog class days, and Harry had arrived at the park early to see if she could get Lila to do some simple tasks without the distraction of other dogs around. 

“I swear she knows that I have the treats,” Harry says. She scoops up Lila and cuddles her close as Watson sits at Liam’s feet. She feels bad for taking away his playmate, but Harry is still feeling anxious about being outside and she wants her puppy close.

Liam’s laugh is rich and beautiful. Harry wants to drown in it. “She probably does, mate. Watson always knows. But he doesn’t go for them anymore. Not since I trained him out of it.”

“Well you’re clearly some kind of dog whisperer then,” Harry starts, “because Lila here doesn’t want to do a thing I ask of her until she’s _had_ a treat.”

“It’s all in the technique,” Liam says. “And the tone. She knows you’ll give in to her. Set her down and watch.”

Harry complies. She sets Lila down, and before Lila can wander over to Watson and have a play, Liam’s authoritative voice commands Lila to sit and she _does_. Harry is in awe.

So in awe that she throws her arms around Liam in a tight hug.

“I can’t believe you got her to do that!” she practically squeals. 

Liam’s laugh is bright and happy and it makes Harry’s stomach flip flop happily. “It’ll come easy enough to you with practice,” she says. “You can do it.”

“Still. Thank you,” Harry replies. Lila has got up and moved, sitting on Watson’s front paws, clearly bored with them. But Harry is thrilled. 

The rest of their class goes well. Harry probably gives Lila far too many treats, and she carries her puppy home, but it’s worth it. Especially when Liam comes home with her, Watson in tow. 

“It took me _forever_ to get Watson to sit and behave properly,” Liam is saying on their way back to Harry’s. “But he does it all now. He’s a good boy.”

“He is,” Harry agrees. They reach her house and she sets Lila down so she can unlock the front door, but she’s saved from having to fish out her key when the door swings open and Niall almost crashes into them.

“Whoa, sorry,” Niall says on a laugh. “I’m heading over to Zayn’s. I’ll be back after dinner.”

“Okay,” Harry replies. “Have fun.” She purposefully waggles her eyebrows in Niall’s direction and Niall laughs, poking Harry in her side as she steps over Lila to exit the house.

Once inside, Harry closes and locks the front door behind her and toes off her shoes. Liam does the same and Harry glances down at her cute, mismatched socks. 

“I’m glad Zayn and Niall are getting on so well,” Liam says as they wander through to the kitchen to have their traditional post-training cup of tea. “I haven’t ever seen Zayn this happy.”

“Same for me with Niall,” Harry replies, putting a tea bag in each of their mugs. “I didn’t used to believe in love at first sight but I believe it for them.”

She fills their mugs with water, leaving room in Liam’s cup for milk. After Harry has let the dogs out into the back garden, she picks up her cup to have a sip, despite knowing it’ll be far too hot.

She watches Liam over the edge of her cup, taking in the slope of her nose and the bow of her lips. She finds herself wishing to kiss those lips and immediately ducks her head, for fear of her intentions being written boldly across her face. 

These feelings towards Liam aren’t exactly new to Harry, but she isn’t sure how well they’d be received if she were to act on them. Plus, there’s a whole layer of anxiety about potentially dating someone that she doesn’t exactly know how to cope with at the moment.

“…watch it?” 

Harry blinks at Liam, completely having missed her question.

“Sorry?”

Liam’s smile is easy and Harry melts a little. “I wanted to know if you wanted to watch the latest _Great British Bake Off_ episode?”

“Oh! I’d love to,” Harry replies, setting her empty mug down in the sink. She checks on the dogs, making sure they’re okay, before following Liam into the lounge room. They both sit down on the sofa, squashing together, as Harry turns on the television.

By the time the dogs want to be let back inside, Harry is tucked into Liam’s warmth and can’t think of getting up and disrupting how comfortable she is.

Liam, the sweetheart, gets up for her, and the clicking of nails on the kitchen floor makes Harry smile as their dogs wander into the house. They both make themselves comfortable on Lila’s bed, Watson’s body squashing the entire thing flat, curling around each other.

“I love how close they are. Our dogs are the cutest best friends ever,” Harry says as Liam sits back down. She immediately snuggles into Liam’s side, feeling so at ease with Liam’s body pressing against her own.

“They’re pretty adorable,” Liam agrees. She pushes some of Harry’s hair over her shoulder, her fingers pressing with the perfect pressure against Harry’s scalp.

Harry’s eyes automatically flutter closed and she bites back a moan at the touch.

“Would you like to go out with me sometime?” Liam asks. She sounds hesitant. Harry bodily moves so she’s facing Liam better. “Like. Um. We don’t have to go _out_ anywhere you’re not comfortable with. But. Um. Would you like to? On a date?”

Harry smiles and nods. “I’d love to,” she replies. “I didn’t think you’d be interested.”

“Oh, I’m interested,” Liam says quickly. “I’ve been trying to think of ways to ask you out for a few days now.”

Harry beams at her. “I’d love to go out with you.”

Liam’s expression floods with relief. “Can I kiss you?” she asks. “I’ve kind of been dying to do that for a little while now, too.”

Harry closes the gap between them, slotting their lips easily together. She isn’t sure how her anxiety is going to cope with this change in her life, but Liam has been in it for a while now, and she’s adjusted pretty well. She thinks that this will be something that is good for her. 

And the way Liam’s lips move under hers, she knows she definitely wants to try.

**Author's Note:**

> hi again. if you've got this far, i hope you enjoyed this part. ♥  
> please leave me a comment if you liked it. i love comments so very much a lot. ♥
> 
>  
> 
> rebloggable post on my [tumblr](https://star55.tumblr.com/post/185784139631)


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